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Every second there are 5,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 bytes of information being captured collectively from all the personal computers around the world, including yours and mine.
It’s true! By using sophisticated software, billions of “cookies” are spying on us, gathering information about everything from our age, income, viewing tastes, song preferences, banking habits, hobbies, interests, and on-line comments, including every purchase you’ve ever made or have considered making over the web.
Most of my life, I had been measuring my beauty against other women, using them as my barometer. No matter how good I was, I was never good enough. Finally, when eating disorders, followed by yo-yo weight gains, and bouts of depression took their toll, I realized that enough was enough. I’d better start doing the work on the inside since all the time I’d spent on the outside never seemed to fix my insecurities!
It’s been six years since I self-published my first book Simply…Woman! and what a ride it’s been.
Since that time I have gone from being a newly, separated single mother (I’d been a stay-at-home mom prior to splitting and left with nothing) who spent far too much money making publishing and marketing mistakes . . . to releasing three more best-selling books with Hay House Publishing, working on a hit TV show that is seen in over 15 countries, to creating an enterprise of products, services, and motivational talks, including opening my own coaching institute. I even got re-married!
I did it all without an agent, manager, investor, or business mentor.
Have you ever heard the saying, “If you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’re getting”?
What is it that causes some of us to stay on that dreaded treadmill of life—wishing, hoping, and praying that something will suddenly get better? Are we suckers for punishment? Do we enjoy running ourselves ragged? Or do we truly believe that this is our destiny so we must live it, sacrifice, and simply allow it to take its course? Is it a deep need to be in control—to think we can change what “is” and make it be what we want it to be? Perhaps, it is merely the natural fear of the unknown. Maybe, not enough belief in ourselves or faith that God will take care of us?
I’ve learned over the years—over the good times and over the absolute worst times—to constantly remind myself of “who I really am” and to never fall prey to believing that my worldly successes or failures define me.
I am “who I am” – regardless of fame, fortune or status; I am “who I am” – regardless of failures, betrayals, or other people’s opinions of me. I am still “me”...
A few weeks ago, I was driving down a country road near my home. In the distance, I noticed a woman at the end of her long, dirt driveway. She was standing in the ditch with a rake in her hand. As I approached, I watched as she furiously stoked the dry grass that was beginning to spring back to life. I scanned her front yard and spied a small run-down house, close to a quarter-of-a-mile back from the road; the house was dilapidated, with junk all around—rusting cars, tools, and garbage. I shockingly looked back to this woman, who had to be in her late 60s, working like mad to clean the ditch. I shook my head and reminded myself that being busy has nothing to do with being productive or effective!
Truth … All the women in my family struggle with their weight … the men too!
Truth … I eat for hunger, for pleasure, for sorrow. And I know when I’m doing it!
Truth … I’ve never been happier, more content, more aligned with who I really am, and more grateful!
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That’s the truth!
I look back at my pictures—from even six or seven years ago. I see leaner arms, a smaller waist, thinner legs, younger skin. I’ll smile. “Boy, I looked good!”
Sometime between 59 BC – 17 AD, Roman author and historian, Titus Livius, coined the phrase “Better late than never.” (Okay, so first off, let me tell you how dumb I felt when I realized that I didn’t know they had “historians” in 59 BC—let alone, that a quote like that came from “way back then” and has stood the test of time.)
It reminds me of the morning (not very long ago) when my 15-year old daughter asked me if there was hairspray, gel or mousse when I was a teenager. Imagine, my kids thinking hairspray was invented in the last 20 years!
The truth is most of us are totally ignorant about our past—our history—and about the people who came before us—be it Roman historians or our very own great-grandmothers. We are so caught up in our own lives, planning our futures, while focused on our wants, needs and frustration that we often disregard the wealth of knowledge and insight that comes from understanding our history.
